Ahead of his last assignment in the head coach role of the Indian cricket team in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa, Rahul Dravid spoke exclusively to the BCCI website about his coaching journey. The 51-year-old stated that his fondest memories during the head coach tenure include the connections and friendships that he has built.
Notably, during the coaching era of Rahul Dravid, the Indian cricket team reached the final of all the three major ICC events. In 2023, India went on to lose the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final, and now in 2024, the Men in Blue stepped into the field at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, to take on South Africa in the T20 World Cup final.
In a snippet of his exclusive interview with the BCCI website, Rahul Dravid was quoted as saying, “I’ve really enjoyed myself. I think it’s been a great learning experience for me and my family as well. I think everyone’s got invested in the Indian team over the last two and a half years. I certainly have, obviously, being here. But so has my family in each and every result that the Indian team has been part of. So it’s been really nice for me as well to see how my two young boys have taken to it. The kind of people that I’ve had the pleasure of working with, my coaching staff, the people who I’ve worked closely with.”
“I know there have been results and we’ve had some really good results in this time, we’ve had some times where it’s not been that easy. And that’s part and parcel of being a coach and being a cricket team. But for me, I think the fondest memories that I’ll take back is the connections that I’ve built, the friendships that I’ve built. That’ll last long after I forget and remember some of these good results or bad results,” he added.
Here is the clip of Rahul Dravid speaking about his coaching tenure with the Indian cricket team:
Moreover, as far as the T20 World Cup 2024 final is concerned, both India and South Africa made it without losing a single match in the tournament. It is important to note that while the Proteas have never won a world cup in cricket, the Men in Blue haven’t won a ICC silverware in the last 10 years or so.